Tuukka Rask didn’t have his best Saturday night, and he was the first one to admit it.
The veteran goaltender allowed all four of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ goals in their Game 5 win over the Boston Bruins in the teams’ first-round Stanley Cup playoff series. Rask only made it halfway through the second period before being pulled in favor of backup netminder Anton Khudobin.
Rask didn’t pull punches after Boston’s tough loss, acknowledging that he “probably could have made more saves with his eyes closed.”
Brad Marchand thought highly of Rask’s blunt self-assessment, acknowledging the type of leadership and character his teammate showed in wake of a rough outing.
“Yeah I think it’s a huge part of a good team,” Marchand said, per the Bruins. “If you want to hold each other accountable you have to be able to hold yourself accountable. Good leaders do that. He (Rask) was the first one to say last night that he could have been better, but that’s what makes him such a great goalie. He’s hard on himself, holds himself accountable and expects to be big for this team, which he has been for a long time. We’re fortunate to have a guy with the character that he has.”
Rask certainly has played at a high level for quite some time, and his postseason experience should bode well for the B’s as they attempt to make a deep postseason run. They can help this cause Monday night when they battle the Leafs in Game 6 at Air Canada Centre.
